Label holding and dispensing device

ABSTRACT

THE DEVICE IS OF ONE-PIECE CONSTRUCTION AND IS FORMED OF SPRING STEEL PROVIDED WITH A THERMOPLASTIC COATING. THE MAIN BODY PORTION OF THE DEVICE HAS AN ATTACHING PORTION AT ONE END THEREOF COMPRISING A PLUTALITY OF SPACED RESILIENT HOOK-SHAPED PORTIONS ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO AN ASSOCIATED SPINNING SLEEVE. A HOLDING LEG EXTENDS FROM THE OPPOSITE END OF THE MAIN BODY PORTION AND IS RESILIENTLY BIASED TOWARD THE MAIN BODY PORTION FOR HOLDING LABELS BETWEEN THE HOLDING LEG AND THE MAIN BODY PORTION. THIS HOLDING LEG IS PROVIDED WITH A SLOT SO THAT A PERSON&#39;&#39;S FINGER CAN ENGAGE THE LABELS TO DISPENSE THE LABELS, AND THE END OF THE HOLDING LEG EXTENDS LATERALLY SO AS TO PERMIT THE HOLDING LEG TO BE READILY MOVED AWAY FROM THE MAIN BODY PORTION.

Sept. 28, 1971 a. G. WARD LABEL HOLDING AND DISPENSING DEVICE FiledApril 22, 1969 INVE/VT'OR GUS GRAHAM WARD 3,608,156 Patented Sept. 28,1971 3,608,156 LABEL HOLDING AND DISPENSING DEVICE Gus Graham Ward,Fayetteville, N.C., assignor to Rohm and Haas Company, Philadelphia, Pa.Filed Apr. 22, 1969, Ser. No. 818,348 Int. Cl. A44b 21/00 US. Cl. 24-81BClaims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The device is of one-piececonstruction and is formed of spring steel provided with a thermoplasticcoating. The main body portion of the device has an attaching portion atone end thereof comprising a plurality of spaced resilient hook-shapedportions adapted to be connected to an associated spinning sleeve. Aholding leg extends from the opposite end of the main body portion andis resiliently biased toward the main body portion for holding labelsbetween the holding leg and the main body portion. This holding leg isprovided with a slot so that a persons finger can engage the labels todispense the labels, and the end of the holding leg extends laterally soas to permit the holding leg to be readily moved away from the main bodyportion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The device of the present invention isparticularly adapted to hold and dispense labels in the form ofidentification discs which are commonly employed in the textile industryfor identifying yarns.

The yarn is wound upon a spinning sleeve, and the yarn is conveyedthrough various yarn production stages on the spinning sleeve. From timeto time portions of the yarn are removed from the spinning sleeve andplaced upon other suitable means such as pirns or the like.

When the yarn is transferred from the spinning sleeve to a pirn or otherdevices, it is necessary to identify the yarn so transferred, andaccordingly, it is desirable to provide identification labels on thespinning sleeve which can be readily dispensed for attachment to a pirnor the like thereby preventing yarn mix problems.

The method commonly employed at the present time for conveyingidentification discs along with yarn in a textile mill is to secure thediscs to the inside wall of the spinning sleeve with adhesive tape.Since the identification discs are carried along with the spinningsleeve and can be removed when desired, the possibility of improperidentification is appreciably reduced. However, this type of prior artarrangement has proven to be unsatisfactory since the identificationdiscs are often lost or intermixed because the adhesive tape willnotproperly adhere to the oily spinning sleeves.

Molded plastic carriers have also been used, but this type of carrier isrelatively heavy and diflicult to handle. Furthermore, such moldedplastic carriers have a relatively large initial cost and are notsufiiciently durable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a label holdingand dispensing device of one-piece construction which is formed ofspring steel provided with a thermoplasitc coating. The thermoplasticcoating is adapted to resist corrosion and is not adversely affected bythe heat and humidity conditions to which the device may be subjected atthe various yarn production stages. Furthermore, the thermoplasticcoating provides a smooth surface such that the identification discs maybe readily dispensed therefrom.

The device includes a main body portion having a resilient attachingportion at one end thereof so that the device can be readily attachedand held in place on a spinning sleeve. The attaching portion is of sucha construction that the device can be removed with ease when so desiredand yet ensures that the device will stay in place on an associatedspinning sleeve throughout the various manufacturing stages.

A holding leg extends from the opposite end of the main body portion andis resiliently biased toward the main body portion to holdidentification discs or labels securely in place between the main bodyportion and the holding leg.

A slot is formed in the holding leg so that the labels can be readilydispensed by inserting ones finger through such slot to slide one of thelabels from the device whereupon it may be attached to a pirn or thelike.

The holding leg includes a laterally extending end portion which isadapted to be manually grasped for moving the holding leg away from themain body portion when it is desired to place labels into position inthe device.

The use of the holding and dispensing device of the present inventioncompletely eliminates the necessity of employing adhesive tape or thelike. The spring steel arrangement is lighter and easier to handle thanthe molded plastic carriers employed heretofore. Additionally, theinitial cost of the present device is much less than that of plasticcarriers. Furthermore, the device of the present invention is moredurable and will last longer than conventional molded plastic carriers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top perspective viewillustrating the device of the present invention mounted upon a spinningsleeve;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the device according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 44 of FIG. 3looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 55 of FIG. 2looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view, similar to FIG. 4, except that the labelsare shown in an alternative arrangement, i.e., as strips of labels ordiscs in layers under the holding leg.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference characters designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates aconventional spinning take-up sleeve 10 having a body of yarn 12disposed thereabout. A label holding and dispensing device according tothe present invention is indicated generally by reference numeral 14 andis illustrated as being mounted in operative position upon the spinningsleeve.

The device of the present invention is of one-piece construction and isformed of flat spring steel bent into the finished configurationhereinafter described. The spring steel is provided with a coating of athermoplastic substance such as nylon or polyvinyl chloride.Alternatively, the coating may comprise a thermosetting resin, forexample, one of the urea-formaldehyde or phenolformaldehyde resins.

The device includes an attaching, portion indicated generally byreference numeral 24 at one end of the body portion. This attachingportion includes three spaced resilient generally hook-shaped portions26, 28 and 30 which are formed on an arc corresponding to the diameterof the associated spinning sleeve so that these attaching portions areadapted to be clamped to the spinning sleeve. It will be understood thatthe lower ends of these hook-shaped resilient portions are spaced fromthe body portion a distance less than the thickness of the spinningsleeve so that the attaching portion is adapted to be tightly clamped onthe associated spinning sleeve wall.

It should be understood that the curved cross-sectional configuration ofthe main body portion is preferably such that it is adapted to conformto the inner diameter of the associated spinning sleeve so that it willbe snugly held in place thereagainst. It should be further understoodthat while the hook-shaped portions 26, 23, and 30 are shown in 'FIG. 2as being spaced apart from one another, these elements can be mergedinto one continuous hook, particularly in the case of narrow labelholding and dispensing devices.

The device includes a holding leg 40 which is interconnected with themain body portion by a resilient bight portion 42 which normally biasesthe holding leg 40 toward the main body portion .20. As seen in FIG. 5,the holding leg 40 also has a curved cross-sectional configurationsubstantially complementary to that of the main body portion 20.

An elongated slot 44 is formed through the holding leg 40 for receivinga persons finger so that identification discs may be dispensed from thedevice. The outer end portion 48 of the holding leg 40 extends laterallyfrom the device at substantially an angle a of approximately 45 withrespect to the associated holding leg as will be seen most clearly inFIG. 4. This laterally extending end portion is adapted to be manuallygrasped for moving the holding leg away from the main body portion sothat identification discs may be inserted in place therebetween.

A staok of identification discs is indicated generally by referencenumeral 50. These discs may be of any construction, and in a typicalexample may comprise small discs formed of paper having suitable indiciathereon for identifying the yarn. These labels or discs may be providedwith a pressure-sensitive adhesive or other suitable substance forreadily attaching the labels to a pirn or the like when dispensed fromthe device.

It is apparent that when the device is in the assembled positionillustrated in FIG. 1, it is adapted to hold a plurality of labels inplace within the interior of an associated spinning sleeve. When it isdesired to subsequently dispense one of the labels from the stack oflabels, a persons finger is inserted through the slot 44, and thetop-most label in the stack of labels may be slid out of the device foruse as desired.

Alternatively, instead of stacking the labels singularly, they may bearranged in strip form in one or more layers as shown in FIG. 6. When itis desired to dispense one of the labels or discs, the top-most strip isadvanced out of the device by the use of a persons finger (usually thethumb) which is inserted through slot 44. Individual labels or discs arethen removed from the strip; this is readily facilitated by the use of astrip in which the labels are joined to one another in an easilyseparable manner, i.e., as by perforations. After the top-most strip isused up, the next succeeding strip may be advanced and labels removedtherefrom in a similar manner.

As the spinning sleeve proceeds through the various manufacturingstages, the labels are removed one at a time until all of theidentification discs have been dispensed. The device is then detachedfrom the spinning sleeve and returned to the spinning area for reuse.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms Without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the presentembodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, and since thescope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, all changesthat fall Within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form theirfunctional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are thereforeintended to be embraced by those claims.

I claim:

1. A yarn package comprising a sleeve having a generally cylindrical endportion, a label-holding and dispensing device disposed within saidsleeve, the device having a narrow main body, resilient hook-like meansat one end of said main body to resiliently hold the device to thesleeve, and a holding leg extending from the opposite end of said mainbody towards the first-mentioned end and resiliently biased towards saidmain body to hold labels between the leg and the main body, said holdingleg having a slot formed therethrough of sufiicient size to permitengagement of the labels by a persons finger.

2. A yarn package according to claim 1 wherein said narrow main body ofsaid label holding and dispensing device has a curved, cross-sectionalconfiguration and said holding leg has a substantially complementarycurved cross-sectional configuration.

3. As an article of manufacture, a label holding and dispensing deviceof one-piece construction comprising a narrow main body having a curvedcross-sectional configuration, resilient hook-like means at one end ofsaid main body adapted to resiliently attach the device to a spinningsleeve, a resilient holding leg extending from the opposite end of saidmain body toward the firstmentioned end and being resiliently biasedtowards said main body to hold labels between the leg and the main body,said holding leg having a slot formed therethrough of sufiicient size topermit engagement of the labels by a persons finger and having a curvedcross-sectional configuration that is substantially complementary tothat of the narrow main body.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein said hooklike means comprisesa plurality of spaced resilient hookshaped portions.

5. An article of manufacture according to claim 3 wherein the hook-likemeans is a hook-shaped resilient extension at one end of the main body,is substantially shorter than the holding leg at the other end of themain body, and is disposed on the side of the main body opposite that towhich the holding leg is adjacent.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,857,488 5/1932. Weeks 24259PC2,306,174 12/1942 Mallory 24-81PC 2,411,053 11/1946 Ornsteen 24 81McX2,478,376 8/1949 n8 Swart 24259PCUX 3,088,268 5/1963 Holschlag 6t al. 571s5 3,163,385 12/1964 Lazan 24-81BX 3,438,604 4/1'969 Spicer 2481XRFOREIGN PATENTS 1,124,208 6/1956 France 24-81B DONALD A. GRIFFIN,Primary Examiner

